a kiss and another
by Hanayuki Shizuka
Summary: love and friendship must coexist to make a relationship work, but Tezuka being so dense didnt realise it until it was too late. will fuji forgive? maybe... TezuFuji


Reply to reviews: someone asked me why all my fictions were all so sad, maybe it was because I live in a sad world. Everyone is so tired and everything is so dull. Thanks so much for your reviews…make my day! Arigatoo!

Disclaimer: POT doesn't and will never belong to me.

Author's POV

The usually loud and noisy tennis courts were unusually quiet today. Everyone was looking at Fuji, or rather should I say, Fuji's cactus. A row of green and thorny plants stood proudly by the wall of the tennis courts. Everyone was looking as Fuji calmly continues his exercises, completely unaware, or perhaps he was too aware, of the curious stares and the hard suppressed mirth.

But Tezuka wasn't that happy about Fuji's little "joke". No sir, no amusement or appreciation from the stern Buchou. Although Fuji might be his boyfriend and his Tensai, but tennis courts are meant for playing tennis not… well most certainly not for sunbathing cactus!

He was about to call out for Fuji to run fifty laps when Fuji, as if sensed his displeasure, looked in his direction. Tezuka almost smiled, he was certain that Fuji would cower and fearfully tries to hide his silly greenish…plants. Yes, that would be the day, in Tezuka's dreams.

Fuji looked straight (if one can see through Fuji's closed eyes, that is…) into Tezuka's eyes. Walking towards his plants, Fuji smiled. The sight sent a shiver down Tezuka's back. Reaching his cactus, Fuji pulled a…Sun tanning lotion (?) from his pocket and started to coat the green plants with it.

Tezuka looked ready to burst; well, only Fuji could see that, but to the rest, Tezuka was a soul of calm and coolness.

The day went off almost without a hitch. Fuji had been asked to run one hundred laps, which he of course finished in record timing. At the end of then day, only Tezuka, Fuji and Oishi were left in the club house. Fuji was still tending to his cactus, complimenting them on the beautiful tans they got.

Just as Tezuka was mentally kicking Fuji's ass, Fuji's mobile phone rang and he was "summoned" home. He jogged away from the club house, his hands filled with his little pots of pride and joy. Yuuta, he had called as he slipped past the door, was home from his hostel. With that the club house was left with the Buchou and Fuku Buchou and the resounding thud of the door.

A weird expression appeared on Tezuka's face, a mixture of pain and tenderness as he stared after Fuji. Sometimes, when love got tedious, someone will get bored. Boredom, such an unromantic word, but it was a constant within lovers' lives. If one's love was not strong enough, or when one did not come to realize just how much the other party meant to him, boredom could constantly flash its warning light within one's head.

Oishi saw the look and he didn't like it. Something was going on with Fuji and Tezuka. Or rather, something was happening to Tezuka, he seemed… sad, but yet determined to do something.

"Tezuka, are you alright? Is something wrong with you and Fuji…" he drifted off as Tezuka turned and looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"How did you know about it? I mean… what did you know?" Oishi was surprised; it was the first time he ever seen Tezuka stumbled in his speech. Something big must be happening he was sure of it.

"Nothing, but it seems like something is troubling you and I guess Fuji is the only one who can bring any emotions from you"

Tezuka frowned. He didn't know he was that obvious. He should not have let his guard down after all.

"I… lately, my love for Fuji had changed. It is no longer the same. I can't seem to feel the way I felt in the past. It is as if everything between us had changed, and it is not good." Tezuka wanted to let his confusion out, and it shocked Oishi that Tezuka was willing to talk so much about his private life. Yet strangely, he understood why. It was hard, for anyone to keep their emotions suppressed for too long.

"What had changed?"

"Everything, I no longer feel blessed to see Fuji coming towards me. I no longer stand at the same spot, wanting to watch Fuji as he walks from me. I no longer feel the urge to run towards him when I see him walking down my way… I no longer feel in love."

"But, maybe it was just a phase you are going through now? Maybe it was like a…a…"

"I don't think so, our love seemed so simple before, now it feels so complicated, like a…like an obligation."

"But…"

"No, more appropriately, it seems like our love had became like friendship."

Fuji's POV

His hands clenched painfully around the pots of his cactus. Tezuka's words rang from the room. _He didn't even bothered to keep his voice low,_ Fuji thought bitterly. _Maybe he didn't care anymore, maybe…_

He turned, totally forgotten about the cactus he left in the room. He had come back for the cactus he had lagged behind, but instead he found out the truth about Tezuka's feelings.

He wanted to leave. At least if Tezuka didn't know that he knew, there might still be a chance. He could pretend he was ignorant about Tezuka's distaste of their relationship. And they could remain together, he would try to make Tezuka love him again, he could try, as hard as possible.

Author's POV

As Fuji turned hastily from the club room's door, his foot caught one of the newly installed potted plants at the door. The heavy pot shifted with a lusty moan of protest and groaned just as loudly as it settled into place again.

Fuji looked at the plant with anger, even the plant was against him!

The door was thrown open and Tezuka stepped out. He gasped in shock as he registered who was outside, listening to all the things he was saying to Oishi.

"Fuji…nani…"

"I came back for…my…cactus" his voice broke with all the agony pressing mercilessly at his throat. He took another step forward before he was stalled by Tezuka.

"Maten, how much had you heard?"

"Everything…I should have heard…first-hand from you…and…and not from your conversation with another." Sobs racked his body and he wanted curl away and die. He didn't want to stand here and listen to Tezuka questioning him.

But Tezuka didn't know when to stop, his heart had stopped when he saw Fuji, he needed to know just how much Fuji had heard, need to know how much he had hurt Fuji. But Fuji wouldn't look at him, his back was facing him and Tezuka couldn't see what Fuji's reaction was.

"Fuji, it is not that I have a new love or anything in that context. It is just that our love has changed, and even you can't refute that…"

"Nothing has changed for me." Fuji spat. He finally whirled about to confront the person who had broke his heart with his careless admission of his change of heart.

"Perhaps, I had changed." Tezuka admitted ruefully.

"No, you hadn't changed a bit! You are still you, the cold and unfeeling Buchou! It is your feeling for me that had changed." The last phrase ended in a pitiful sob.

"Fuji…some things were meant to be, and some things were just meant not to be."

"What is meant to be and what is meant not to be! Last month, our love was meant to be, and now, just because you decreed it, our love was now meant not to be?" Fuji laughed a bitter laugh; this situation was altogether too amusing. And he laughed, he didn't stop even as he choked on his tears, he didn't stop even as Tezuka pleaded to him to stop his bitter and hysterical laughter.

Fuji didn't see the slap coming, but he felt the sting. And even then, the sting was nothing compared to the pain in his chest. Tezuka had slapped him. His laughter died, as surely as his heart had died.

He turned once again from Tezuka, his eyes now dry.

Hugging his middle with a trembling hand, he gave a smirk, mocking his foolish self and the great love he thought they had shared, and left Tezuka standing with regret and misery in his eyes.

Tezuka stared stupidly at the disappearing back of Fuji, and suddenly he felt chilled, as if someone had ripped his heart out and replaced it with a block of ice.

He shivered and turned back towards the club room. Oishi was polishing his racket with a blush gracing his face. He was no doubt listening to their conversation. But Tezuka couldn't blame him, not when the conversation was actually a shouting contest towards the end.

"Oishi…"

"Tezuka please let me speak. I…I overheard your…erm…conversation with Fuji, and I can't help but to feel a need to talk to you."

When Tezuka kept quiet, Oishi deemed it safe to continue.

"I don't think that your love for Fuji had disappeared like what you had described to me. I would have tell you what I think if you but listen to me just now. Perhaps it has evolved?"

"Evolved, when all I felt for him is friendship?"

"What is love? The question is pondered and still unanswered. Perhaps to you love must remain love, but if you ask me, what is love without friendship, love without friendship is but passion, love without friendship would burn as wildly as a bon fire and soon it would flicker and die with time."

"Passion? Is it all there was for us? All this time…" Tezuka was confused, it had never ever seen his love for Fuji as pure passion, but if it wasn't plain passion, what was still present within their love? Friendship didn't fit into his definition of love, yet, he and Fuji had started out as friends, didn't they?

"Tezuka, just think, how would you feel if you were to lose Fuji forever as a lover? How would you feel when Fuji himself thinks that all he feels for you was friendship? Just think how you would feel then, and you would have your answer."

Tezuka turned from Oishi; he didn't know what to think right now.

The day passed, with one confused Buchou, and a heart-broken Tensai.

Fuji didn't come the next day. He called in sick.

_Empty,_ Tezuka thought, _was how I am feeling. As if he had left a room and turned off the light on his way out. He was my love, my friend and my light. _

When all the club activities ended, when everyone finished the fifty laps Tezuka made them run for laughing too loudly during practice, he left hurriedly. For Fuji's house.

Wait for me Fuji, I am coming. Thank you for letting me loves you, both as a friend and as a lover.

The lowering sun enveloped the running boy with its warming rays as he ran towards the light of his life.

One day, many fifty years later, both of them will walk down the street and remind themselves of their little lovers' spat and remember fondly how they won back their lights in life.

With a kiss and another kiss. One for love and one for friendship.


End file.
